Class Time

Top Notch-Instruction

If we are not a tour company, we are not your regular high school either: Global Navigator programs are fully immersive programs, so get ready to “learn by doing” and get up close and personal with a new local culture.

Whether you choose to boost your fluency in a foreign language, discover a new topic or engage in a community service project, our class time is designed to help you live your experience to the fullest.

Not Your Typical Language Lab

On Language & Culture programs, all our instructors are local teachers, certified by CIEE. So they act as much as language learning experts as cultural insiders! Students are grouped by fluency levels, so everyone stays challenged throughout the program. You’ll take a language test (STAMP) before and after your program to measure your progress and ensure your success.

We believe in a task-based, communicative methodology. In other words, we help you communicate effectively and “function” in the real world!

Every day, for example, our teachers literally take the class outside and into the community to practice real-world situations such as asking for direction in the street, or buying a loaf of bread at the corner shop. They also use authentic materials in class, such as local newspapers, fashion magazines or local products. Anything that can help you connect the dots between what you learn in class and what you see and experience outside.

We want you to learn vocabulary and gain skills that will help you make the most of your stay, and more importantly, stick with you for a long time. These won’t be just words you studied in a book, but experiences you actually lived.

Want to see a language program in action? Check out our video below.

Not Your Typical Service Project

Service & Leadership

It’s one thing to do community service a couple hours a week back home; it’s another thing entirely to immerse yourself in a service learning project – and in the culture surrounding it. These transformative experiences are about both the mind and the heart. They’re about the world around you, and your place in it; the bigger picture and the Common Good.

With the guidance of experienced CIEE leaders, you’ll learn how to communicate with people who hold different values, norms, and beliefs – skills that will prove valuable in any intercultural exchange. During structured class time you’ll learn about the local culture and put your project work into context. You’ll gain new insights into leadership and collaboration and hone skills as you put them to good use.

Together you will reflect on your experiences, draw meaning from them, and then apply that new learning to your daily lives abroad – and beyond.

Want to see a service program in action? Check out our video below.

Not Your Typical Subject

Global Discovery

On Global Discovery programs, class time is built into the program to give you a solid foundation in the topic you choose to learn while teaching you basic skills in the local language of the country you are staying in, so that you can more fully enjoy your time outside of the classroom.

Our instructors are well integrated into the local community, making it possible to experience authentic learning moments such as helping a local company crack a business case on a Global Entrepreneurship program, or helping restore an island’s mangrove on a Biodiversity & Conservation program.

Want to take a sneak peek at our Global Discovery programs? Check out our video below.